




Yvette Cooper wrote a newspaper column about Palestine Action despite prosecutors warning it could prejudice criminal proceedings against six activists from the group, it can be revealed.
The then-home secretary wrote the column justifying Palestine Action’s proscription even though the Crown Prosecution Service advised it might unfairly impact a trial concerning a 2024 break-in at an Israeli arms manufacturer’s factory.
After a retrial, four of the defendants were convicted last week in relation to the raid on the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol. It can now be reported that defence lawyers sought to halt the proceedings for alleged abuse of process, claiming Cooper’s column for the Observer was “an egregious example of contemptuous reporting which directly interferes with the court process”.
The article, on 17 August, said that charges against Palestine Action activists included a “terrorism connection” and also referred to violence, intimidation and “disturbing information” about future attacks.
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The far-right activist Tommy Robinson told tens of thousands of supporters to prepare for the “battle of Britain” during a rally in London on Saturday.
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, drew tens of thousands of supporters on to the streets of central London for the second year running in an event where Islamophobic and ethnonationalist hate speech and flyers were distributed to the crowds.
Organisers claimed that millions had attended his “unite the kingdom” march, but police estimated the number of demonstrators to be far lower, at about 60,000. Last September’s march was attended by 150,000 people.

Robinson, who gained prominence as the founder of the anti-Islam English Defence League, told crowds gathered in Parliament Square that the rally was “a turning point for Britain”.
He encouraged his supporters to move beyond street protest and “fighting” and become involved in local politics before the next general election.
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dizzy: News searches for Reform councillor are also very amusing. Search by date for the most recent ones. Enjoy
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Spanish actor Javier Bardem said the Nakba “never ended,” describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and its policies in the occupied West Bank as “ethnic cleansing and apartheid” in a message marking the anniversary of the 1948 mass displacement of Palestinians, Anadolu reports.
The US social media company X account of the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations on Friday shared Bardem’s recorded remarks during a screening for UN representatives of the Palestinian-themed film All That’s Left Of You.
In his message, Bardem stressed that the Palestinian people have long struggled against what he described as Israel’s policies of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
“We understand that the Nakba never ended. It is playing out today in Gaza as genocide and in the West Bank as ethnic cleansing and apartheid,” Bardem said.
READ: Palestinians mark 78th Nakba anniversary amid war, ongoing displacement
The Spanish actor also praised the Palestinians’ century-long “determination to remain on their land and to thrive as a people with a rich culture who deserve to be free and to return home,” describing their struggle against erasure as one defined by extraordinary resilience, courage, and steadfast resolve.
The film, which portrays the trauma and search for hope experienced by three generations of a Palestinian family following the 1948 Nakba, was selected by Jordan as its submission for the 98th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.
Palestinians commemorate May 15 as the “Nakba” (“Great Catastrophe”) following Israel’s declaration of independence on May 14, 1948, and the subsequent forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
During the Nakba, Israel expelled nearly 1 million Palestinians from their homes and destroyed 675 Palestinian towns and villages. More than 70 massacres were carried out by Zionist militias, killing over 15,000 Palestinians.
While Israel continues what Palestinians and rights groups describe as genocide in Gaza, Israeli forces have also intensified raids, violence, and repression against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
READ: ‘No to war, and free Palestine’ says Javier Bardem at the Oscars
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Iran “remains committed to diplomacy and peaceful solutions,” the country’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a message to Pope Leo XIV, Iranian state media reported on Saturday, Anadolu reports.
Pezeshkian also expressed Tehran’s appreciation for the Catholic leader’s “moral and logical stance on the recent military aggressions against Iran,” according to the IRNA news agency.
Iran targeted the goals of the US and Israel “within the framework of legitimate defense,” the president said, calling on the international community to “act responsibly against America’s illegal actions.”
Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. In response, Tehran retaliated with strikes targeting Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. US President Donald Trump later extended the truce indefinitely.
READ: FBI offers $200,000 reward for former Air Force operative who defected to Iran
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